IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 371 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should 

be established a ‘‘National African Immigrant Heritage Month’’ in September to celebrate the great contributions of Americans of African 

immigrant heritage in the United States who have enriched the history 

of the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 22, 2015 

Ms. CLARKE of New York (for herself, Ms. MENG, Ms. LEE, Mr. SERRANO, 

Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. NORTON, 

Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LEWIS, 

and Mr. RANGEL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

there should be established a ‘‘National African Immigrant Heritage Month’’ in September to celebrate the 

great contributions of Americans of African immigrant 

heritage in the United States who have enriched the 

history of the Nation. 

Whereas people of recent African immigrant heritage are 

found in every State of the Union; 

Whereas the history of Americans of African immigrant heritage in the United States is inextricably tied to the story 

of the Nation; 


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•HRES 371 IH 

Whereas the community of Americans of African immigrant 

heritage in the United States is an inherently diverse 

population comprised of more than 45 distinct ethnicities 

and more than 500 language dialects; 

Whereas Americans of African immigrant heritage in the 

United States come from all regions in Africa and do not 

constitute a homogeneous group, including people from 

different national, linguistic, ethnic, racial, cultural, and 

social backgrounds; 

Whereas Americans of African immigrant heritage in the 

United States came to the United States voluntarily, and 

are distinct from African-Americans, the latter of whom 

are descendants of mostly West and Central Africans who 

were involuntarily brought to the United States by means 

of the historic Atlantic slave trade; 

Whereas the month of September has been celebrated by the 

Africans and allies of Montgomery County, Maryland, 

since 2008, month-long proclamations have been issued 

by more than 20 Governors since 2011 and the White 

House acknowledged the month in 2012 and hosted a full 

day White House Briefing in 2013 because ‘‘African 

Union Day’’ is on September 9; 

Whereas recent African immigrants have made significant 

contributions to American culture such as having high 

educational and income levels, as well as contributing to 

many areas of American life such as the military, health 

care, arts, education, community service, and public policy; 

Whereas raising awareness about African immigrant heritage 

is crucial to effectively fighting disparities within the 

greater Black population in the American narrative and 


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is essential to building a stronger community and a 

stronger America; 

Whereas during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a significant number of slaves from the Africa region were 

brought to the United States; 

Whereas African immigrants from Cape Verde first came to 

the United States in the 1790s; 

Whereas the Cape Verdean immigrants arrived aboard New 

England whaling ships, which would often pick up crewmen off the coast of Cape Verde in Africa and their descendants include the legendary Lena Horne and sailors 

who fought in the Union Navy; 

Whereas in 1922, the United States Government restricted 

the immigration of peoples of color, greatly reducing 

Cape Verdean immigration; 

Whereas the new regulations also prevented Cape Verdean 

Americans from visiting Africa for fear of being denied 

reentry into the United States; 

Whereas in the 1960s to 1970s, due to the more racially inclusive regulations of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act of 1965, more African immigrants from across the 

continent came to the United States primarily as students; 

Whereas in the 1980s and 1990s, Africans in the United 

States were primarily refugees, who were fleeing hardships from countries such as Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra 

Leone, Somalia, and Sudan; 

Whereas in the 2000s, Africans in the United States were 

largely beneficiaries of the highly popular Department of 

State program known as the Diversity Visa Lottery Program; 


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Whereas much like the United States, the countries in Africa 

faced obstacles of in-country slavery and colonialism and 

struggled for independence; 

Whereas the independence movements in many countries in 

Africa during the 1960s and the consequential establishment of independent democratic countries in Africa 

strengthened ties between the region and the United 

States; 

Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack 

Hussein Obama, is of Kenyan descent; 

Whereas the countries in Africa are important economic partners of the United States; 

Whereas the people of Africa share the hopes and aspirations 

of the people of the United States for peace and prosperity throughout the world, but there remains much to 

be done to ensure that Americans of recent African immigrant heritage have access to resources and a voice in the 

United States Government and continue to advance in 

the political, social, and economic landscape of the United 

States; and 

Whereas celebrating ‘‘National African Immigrant Heritage 

Month’’ in September would provide the people of the 

United States with an opportunity to recognize the 

achievements, contributions, and history of and to appreciate the challenges faced by Americans of recent African 

immigrant heritage: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) a ‘‘National African Immigrant Heritage 

4 Month’’ should be established to celebrate the sigVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 Jul 23, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR371.IH HR371

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•HRES 371 IH 

1 nificant contributions of Americans of recent African 

2 immigrant heritage to the history of the United 

3 States; and 

4 (2) the people of the United States should ob5 serve the month with appropriate ceremonies, cele6 brations, and activities to recognize that Americans 

7 of recent African immigrant heritage enhance the 

8 rich diversity of and strengthen the United States. 

Æ 


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